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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — the season
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fine — all right
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — of water
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com